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"People refer to this location an enigmatic zone of Transylvania," explains a local guide, his exhalation creating wisps of condensation in the cold night air. "Countless individuals have vanished here, some say it's an entrance to another dimension." This expert is leading a guest on a evening stroll through what is often described as the globe's spookiest woodland: Hoia-Baciu, a section spanning 640 acres of old-growth native woodland on the outskirts of the Transylvanian city of Cluj-Napoca.

Hundreds of Years of Enigma

Accounts of unusual events here go back a long time – this woodland is called after a local shepherd who is reportedly went missing in the far-off times, together with two hundred animals. But Hoia-Baciu achieved global recognition in 1968, when a military technician called Emil Barnea captured on film what he reported as a unidentified flying object hovering above a round opening in the centre of the forest.

Numerous entered this place and never came out. But rest assured," he adds, facing the traveler with a grin. "Our excursions have a 100% return rate."

In the years that followed, Hoia-Baciu has drawn meditation experts, spiritual healers, ufologists and paranormal investigators from worldwide, curious to experience the unusual forces believed to resonate through the forest.

Contemporary Dangers

Despite being one of the world's premier destinations for lovers of the paranormal, the grove is at risk. The western suburbs of Cluj-Napoca – a modern tech hub of a population exceeding 400,000, called the tech capital of the region – are expanding, and construction companies are advocating for approval to remove the forest to construct residential buildings.

Aside from a small area housing regionally uncommon Mediterranean oak trees, the forest is not officially protected, but the guide believes that the organization he helped establish – a local conservation effort – will assist in altering this, motivating the authorities to appreciate the forest's significance as a tourist attraction.

Chilling Events

When small sticks and fall foliage snap and crunch beneath their boots, the guide describes numerous local legends and alleged paranormal happenings here.

• A popular tale tells of a young child going missing during a family outing, then to rematerialise half a decade later with no memory of the events, having not aged a day, her clothes shy of the tiniest bit of dust.
• Regular stories detail mobile phones and camera equipment mysteriously turning off on venturing inside.
• Emotional responses include full-blown dread to feelings of joy.
• Certain individuals report observing bizarre skin irritations on their bodies, detecting disembodied whispers through the woodland, or sense fingers clutching them, despite being certain nobody is nearby.

Research Efforts

While many of the accounts may be hard to prove, there is much before my eyes that is definitely bizarre. Throughout the area are vegetation whose bases are warped and gnarled into bizarre configurations.

Various suggestions have been suggested to account for the misshapen plants: powerful storms could have shaped the young trees, or typically increased radioactivity in the earth explain their crooked growth.

But scientific investigations have turned up no satisfactory evidence.

The Notorious Meadow

Marius's excursions allow participants to engage in a modest investigation of their own. Upon reaching the meadow in the forest where Barnea captured his renowned UFO photographs, he passes the traveler an electromagnetic field detector which detects EMF readings.

"We're entering the most powerful part of the forest," he states. "Discover what's here."

The plants abruptly end as the group enters into a flawless round. The single plant life is the trimmed turf beneath our feet; it's obvious that it hasn't been mown, and looks that this unusual opening is wild, not the creation of landscaping.

The Blurred Line

The broader region is a place which fuels fantasy, where the division is unclear between truth and myth. In traditional settlements belief persists in strigoi ("screamers") – otherworldly, appearance-altering bloodsuckers, who emerge from tombs to terrorise regional populations.

The famous author's well-known fictional vampire is permanently linked with Transylvania, and Bran Castle – an ancient structure perched on a rocky outcrop in the mountain range – is keenly marketed as "the vampire's home".

But despite legend-filled Transylvania – actually, "the land past the woods" – appears tangible and comprehensible versus these eerie woods, which give the impression of being, for reasons related to radiation, climatic or entirely legendary, a nexus for human imaginative power.

"Within this forest," Marius says, "the line between fact and fiction is extremely fine."